Zika: WHO declares public health emergency

The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared Zika a global emergency following rapid rates of infection in South America. 

Babies in the region have been born with microcephaly which have been attributed to the disease. According to the BBC, there have been over 4,000 cases of babies born with underdeveloped brains.

The WHO alert places Zika as a major source of worry. It is now expected that research and aid will be fast tracked to tackle the infection. 

WHO director general, Margaret Chan, said Zika was now a public health emergency.

“I am now declaring that the recent cluster of microcephaly and other neurological abnormalities reported in Latin America following a similar cluster in French Polynesia in 2014 constitutes a public health emergency of international concern.”

The only way to prevent contacting the disease is to avoid being bitten by the Aedes mosquito which transmits the infection. There are currently no vaccine or drugs to stop Zika. 

The WHO has delivered strong warnings that Zika is likely to “spread explosively” across nearly all of the Americas. More than 20 countries are reporting cases.